Download landforms_of_canada 2013

LANDFORM REGIONS OF
CANADA
• Canada is divided into
seven landform regions:
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Western Cordillera
Interior Plains
Canadian Shield
Great Lakes - St.Lawrence
Lowlands
Appalachians
Arctic and Hudson Bay
Lowlands
Innuitian Mountains
The Western Cordillera
• From West to East, the Western Cordillera is
composed of three sub-regions, each one running
from north to south
• The West Coast Mountains on the Pacific coast
• The Interior Plateaux in the middle
• The Rockies, bordering and crossing into Alberta
The West Coast Mountains
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Very tall peaks
Volcanic
Many fiords
In some areas the ocean is
the best way to get around
• Communities are in deep
valleys on the shoreline
WEST COAST MOUNTAINS
• Subduction zone
• Oceanic plate sliding
under continental
plate
• Prone to earthquakes
WEST COAST MOUNTAINS
• Industries take
advantage of the
resources and
landforms in the
area
• Whistler attracts a
significant number
of tourists
THE INTERIOR PLATEAUX
• A flat highland area
between mountain
ranges
• There are a number of
well known communities
located here
• The Okanagan Valley is
an important fruit
farming region
THE ROCKIES
• Canada’s largest
mountain range
• Unlike flat regions,
mountains are known
for fast-flowing rivers
which gouge steep
valleys in the
landscape
The Rockies are home to many alpine glaciers
• A narrow channel of ice
which slides down a
mountain.
• Snow accumulates at the
top of the glacier/ melts
at the bottom
Interior Plains
The Interior Plains (Prairies)
• Once the bed of a huge sea between the Canadian Shield and
the Rockies
• Mostly flat
• Composed of sedimentary rocks
• Highly suitable for farming where climate offers the right
conditions
The Interior Plains Economy
• Agriculture is one of
the most important
activities in the
Interior Plains
• Mining, for both
fossil fuels and
potash, is also very
important
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield
• Largest region in Canada
• Among the oldest known rocks on the planet
• Formed by volcanic activity, therefore mostly
igneous rock
• Cold winters, warm summers, precipitation all
year give it a distinctive type of vegetation
CANADIAN SHIELD
• Stretches from Arctic to
Great Lakes, from
Mackenzie delta to
Atlantic
• Soils are thin - a poor
choice for agriculture in
most places
Great Lakes - St. Lawrence
Lowlands
• Most southerly and
smallest landform
region of Canada
• Newest landform
region
• Formed by the action
of glaciers scraping
away and redepositing material
on the landscape
• Consists of lakes,
valleys and rolling
hills
The Appalachians
• The oldest mountains
in Canada, worn down
by erosion
• Rich in various
minerals
• Good farmland in
some interior areas
ARCTIC AND HUDSON BAY
LOWLANDS
• Northernmost
inhabited region in
Canada
• Most activity centers
around hunting or
fishing
• Resource extraction
is becoming very
important to the
regions economy
Innuitian Mountains
Innuitian Mountains
• This region is located along
the islands of northern Canada
and features some spectacular
fiords
•Vegetation in this region is low
and sparse, mainly grasses and
flowers or lichen and moss
•Glaciers are still common in the
highest parts of this region and
they cover parts of several
northern islands